An airplane flies over Maho beach as it arrives at Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten. (Josef and Jakob Hoflehner)

On Maho Beach, located on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, airplanes soar dangerously close to beachgoers and Austrian father-son photography duo Josef and Jakob Hoflehner captured it all on film.

“We have always been fascinated by airplanes, and our projects require travel by plane on a fairly regular basis,” Josef Hofleher told weather.com. “For all projects, we are always on the hunt for unique locations and this airport is an extraordinary place – there simply isn’t another place like this anywhere in the world.”

Only a small fence separates Runway 10 at the Princess Juliana International Airport from Maho Beach. Due to the short runway length, planes have to fly over the beach at low altitudes as they prepare to land.

(MORE: World's Scariest Airport Runways (PHOTOS))

The Hoflehners shot the “Jet Airliner” series on a 6x6 Hasselblad SWC, which made capturing the planes that were traveling at roughly 200 miles per hour a difficult task.

“Unlike a modern DSLR, which can take numerous images of one plane arriving, we only had one shot per landing, but we loved the challenge!” said Josef. “It’s pretty difficult since most people on the beach are in constant movement and you have to walk or run with them if you want them in the image.”

Just because the pair was shooting in a tropical location doesn’t mean it was a vacation.

“It’s not like we were relaxing on the beach like other beachgoers. We had the cameras in our hands, standing on the beach, since you never know when exactly the plane is arriving.”

On average, according to Josef, there were only five or six passenger jets coming in per day. “You only have a split second to take the shot or the plane is gone,” he said.

Josef and his son Jakob spent more than two months at the beach between 2009 and 2011 collecting photos for their series. For the Hoflehners, shooting planes that close-up was a thrill.

“With all the heightened security we have today, one can not get that close to a plane anywhere else (without buying a ticket).”

To see more of Josef Hoflehner’s work visit his site. “Jet Airliner” is currently on display at California’s Joseph Bellows Gallery and will be displayed at Colorado’s Open Shutter Gallery starting June 20.

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